Dessert

Strawberry Ricotta Streusel Tart

~ Lynn ~ 15 Comments

All over the blog world, people are writing about cooking and baking with fresh, local, Spring produce. Here, the grass just turned green about 2 days ago. Fresh produce is still a few weeks away. The posts I’ve been reading from points south of here had me longing for fresh strawberries. The giant California strawberries we get all year here just weren’t going to cut it. Compared to a Quebec strawberry, the California ones are quite bland. I’m sure it has something to do with the shipping. How could a berry travel so far and still taste good?

Instead of patiently waiting, I opened up my last jar of homemade strawberry jam and started to experiment. In the past I haven’t done much inventing, but I have to say this was a lot of fun. I actually put my face right up to the oven window as it baked; I was so excited to try it.

What I decided to make was a strawberry and ricotta tart with a streusel topping. I have to say it turned out pretty darn good. The jam added a great hit of strawberry flavour, the cheese layer was surprisingly light, and the almond meal in the crust added a really nice texture. Next time I might add a little cream cheese to the cheese to give it a little tang.

Strawberry Ricotta Streusel Tart

Crust:

  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into cubes
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg

Topping:

  • 1 cup strawberry jam (or jam of your choice)
  • 550 g ricotta cheese
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  1. Make the crust: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and almond meal together. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut/rub the butter into the flour until the mixture just holds together when squeezed and there are no large chunks of butter. Add the vanilla and the egg, stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture just comes together.
  2. Press half the dough into a greased 9 inch tart pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Wrap the remaining dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
  3. Make the cheese filling. Place the ricotta, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir until well combined.
  4. Once the dough crust has chilled, spread the jam over the crust. Top with the cheese mixture. Crumble the remaining dough over the cheese. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F, bake for 40 minutes until golden. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Enjoy!

Egyptian Date Crescents

~ Lynn ~ 27 Comments

During our baking marathon last Friday my mom and I also made some cookies, including these Egyptian Date Cookies. We make them every year at Christmas and Easter for my dad. As we shaped these Egyptian cookies, my mom told me stories about what Easter was like when she was growing up in Poland. There was so much cooking and baking to do, the whole family would work for days in advance. Everyone you saw was invited to Easter dinner, and often people you hadn’t seen would just show up, so they had to be prepared for a lot of guests. On Easter Sunday no work was done. Everyone would go to church and then families and friends would all get together to celebrate.

Things are a little different now, as it was just my immediate family at our celebration this year. We still had quite a feast though. First was breakfast made up of Polish sausage and ham, rye bread, hard boiled eggs, and babka. It’s a very Polish meal. Then after a quick visit to the Saint Joseph Oratory on Mount Royal (a beautiful basilica with very challenging steps leading up to it, every time I go I hear the Rocky theme music in my head), we got to work on dinner. Roast lamb, stuffed vines leaves, rice, potatoes, salad. Then came my favourite part, dessert; a light cake and these cookies.

One of the advantages of having my mom around while baking is that I was able to take “how to” pics. Here’s a visual on how to form the crescents:

Egyptian Date Crescents

Makes about 50 cookies

  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 lb butter at room temp, cut into pieces
  • 1 tsp rose water
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 package pressed dates
  • icing sugar for coating
  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Using your hands, combine the butter and flour until it holds together when squeezed and there are no large pieces of butter.
  3. Add the rose water and milk. Stir until well combined. The dough should have a play dough like consistency.
  4. Take about a tablespoon of dough, form it into a ball. Press the center of the ball down, creating dent in the dough. Place a small amount of the pressed dates into the indentation. Close the dough up, then twist into a crescent. (See pictures above)
  5. Bake for 15 minutes, until the bottom of the cookies are just golden.
  6. Let cool completely, then cover in icing sugar.
These cookies will keep in an airtight container for about a week.
Enjoy!

Easter Babka Three Ways

~ Lynn ~ 21 Comments

Happy Easter!

This year Easter is going to be at my place. Normally we would have it at my parents, but their oven broke and won’t be repaired in time. Most of the prep is still being done by my parents. Right now they are marinating a huge leg of lamb that will be roasted here tomorrow. My mom is also taking care of the pierogi, and the stuffed vine leaves (we have a multicultural Easter, part Polish, part Egyptian). All of the baking was done here yesterday. My mom came over around 10 and we baked all day.

The first thing we made were the Babkas. Babkas are a traditional Eastern and Central European yeasted sweet bread that are served for Easter. The traditional version is flavoured with dried fruit. That’s what my mom always makes. This year, I wanted to try something a little less traditional, chocolate babka.

My mom wasn’t super enthusiastic at first, but then I reminded her of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine tries to buy a chocolate babka. Everyone loves chocolate babka! That helped convince her. Once we decided to veer from the traditional, my mom suggested a third option, poppy seed babka. 

So we made all three.

We made one batch of dough and divided it into three, using a different filling for each. In the traditional version, we used raisins and dried apricots soaked in rum. For the poppy seed version we used a store bought poppy seed paste that also had raisins and candied orange peel. The chocolate version was originally based on Smitten Kitchens technique. Unfortunately, the dough we used could not hold up to the weight of the chocolate and sort of .. imploded. So this morning I made another chocolate babka. This time I used Smitten Kitchens dough recipe and just added chunks of chocolate. Her babka dough is very similar to a brioche recipe. Although it tasted very good, I found my moms recipe much easier to work with. My moms also has a much lighter texture. I can understand now why her chocolate babka didn’t implode, the dough is much stronger.

This basic dough can be used with any filling or flavourings. It makes enough for three loaves.

Basic Babka Dough

  • 5 tsps dry active yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 4 whole eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 8 cups all purpose flour, divided
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups milk, warm
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 2 tsps vanilla
  • 2 tbsp dark rum
  • zest of one orange
  1. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Add a pinch of sugar and set aside for the yeast to dissolve. Note, make sure the water is below 105 degrees F, otherwise it might kill the yeast.
  2. While the yeast is dissolving, whisk the eggs slightly.
  3. Put 6 cups of flour and the salt in the bowl of a standing mixer (or a large bowl if kneading by hand). Create a well, and pour in the eggs, yeast, warm milk, melted butter, vanilla, and rum. Add the orange zest. Stir with a wooden spoon until just combined, then place in the mixer with the dough hook attached and knead. Slowly add the remaining two cups of flour. Knead for 10 minutes. If kneading by hand, this will take about 30 minutes.
  4. If using dried fruit or chocolate chunks, add them to the mixer at this point and knead until combined.
  5. Divide dough into three and place in separate greased bowls. Cover with plastic wrap let rise for an hour until doubled in bulk (or overnight in the fridge).
  6. Punch down the dough. If using a filling like the poppy seed paste or a chocolate spread, roll the dough out into a rectangle, spread the filling over the dough, then roll the dough tightly like a jelly roll.
  7. Place dough in a loaf pan, baking sheet or bundt pan. Cover, and let rise for 30 minutes.
  8. Preheat the oven to 350.
  9. Bake the babka for 15-20 minutes, then lower the heat to 325 and bake for another 15 to 20. Note, if using a loaf pan it may take a few extra minutes. When done, the bread will sound hollow if tapped.
Enjoy!

Orange Madeleines

~ Lynn ~ 17 Comments

I’ve had the hardest time trying to write this post. Usually I have an anecdote or something to say, but this week I’ve got nothing. I made madeleines because I wanted to bake something pretty, and I wasn’t in the mood sprinkles and icing. I served them to a friend who came over for coffee. We discussed hypothetical home purchases and gave each other hypothetical high fives while eating these yummy treats. That’s it.

Madeleines are basically little sponge cakes baked in special scalloped molds. I used David Lebovitz’s recipe, swapping out the lemon for orange. Despite his intentional vagueness, I found the recipe pretty easy to follow. Madeleines seem tough, but if you trust your baking instincts you’ll do fine.

In other news Danielle of Runs with Spatulas has been kind enough to give me the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers blog award. I really enjoy her blog, she has great recipes and gorgeous photos and I’m so happy she likes mine too! To accept the award, it needs to be passed on to 15 other bloggers and I need to share 7 things about myself that you don’t know.

  1. I’m generally very quiet, but I have a loud laugh. It might be annoying.
  2. Birds creep me out. Like a lot. They could peck your eyes out! Have you seen The Birds (or read the short story)?
  3. When I was a kid I thought eggs made my ears itchy so I refused to eat them. I only recently started eating them again.
  4. I am an amazing car singer. I’m especially good at 80’s power ballads.
  5. I’m only attracted to jerks. If I’m attracted to a guy who is not a jerk, he must be unavailable somehow (the most recent examples of this are recently divorced and lives far far away).
  6. My left leg is longer than my right leg. I found this out recently from the osteopath I went to see for my headaches. Why he was looking at my legs when my head was the problem, I do not know.
  7. I don’t like marshmallow filled chocolates, but I like marshmallows and chocolate. And I like s’mores.

So there you have it; 7 things about me you didn’t know before.

And now the important part, the 15 blogs I’d like to share the award with:

Kristel of Kristel’s Kitchen

Azmina of Lawyer Loves Lunch

Lilian of Sweets by Sillianah

Victoria of The District Chocoholic

Mardi of Eat. Live. Travel. Write 

Linsdey of Gingerbread Bagels

Sommer of A Spicy Perspective

Carolyn of All Day I Dream About Food

Christine of With a Bowl of Rice

Janice of Kitchen Heals Soul

Karen of Tasty Trials

Katrina of In Katrina`s Kitchen

Kim of Liv Life

Terra of Café Terra

Rachel of Baked By Rachel

Orange Glazed Madeleines

  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
  • zest of one orange, divided
  • 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature, plus additional melted butter for preparing the molds
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoon freshly-squeezed orange juice
  1. Brush the indentations of a madeleine mold with melted butter. Dust with flour, tap off any excess, and place in the fridge or freezer.
  2. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, whip the eggs, granulated sugar, and salt for 5 minutes until frothy and thickened.
  3.  Sift the flour and baking powder in the egg mixture, using a spatula to fold in the flour.
  4. Add half the orange zest to the cooled butter, then dribble the butter into the batter, a few spoonfuls at a time, while simultaneously folding to incorporate the butter. Fold just until all the butter is incorporated.
  5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  6. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Pour enough batter into the molds to fill them 3/4’s of the way once the batter has spread from the heat of the oven. As David says, it’s not brain surgery.
  7. Bake for 8-9 minutes.
  8. While the cakes are baking, make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar, orange juice and remaining zest.
  9. Remove the madeleines from the oven and unmold by tilting the baking sheet onto cooling rack. Once they are cool enough to handle dip into the glaze, covering both sides of the cakes. Place the madeleines back on the cooling rack until the glaze has set.
Enjoy!

Boston Cream Pie

~ Lynn ~ 24 Comments

Boston Cream Pie and I have a long and happy history. I’ve mentioned before that my family used to rent a cottage in Vermont. Way back in the day, we would head over the to Grand Union in Newport for our weekend groceries. To be honest, I don’t really remember enjoying grocery shopping as a kid, probably because my parents wouldn’t buy the variety pack cereal. That’s not to say they never bought me treats. This particular Grand Union had an in store bakery, and in that bakery were the greatest Boston Cream doughnuts I have ever had. Those doughnuts were the highlights of many weekends. The Grand Union closed years ago, but Boston Cream is still my first choice when a selection of doughnuts is around.

Since my doughnut experience is pretty limited, I decided to try the original Boston Cream Pie for my friend Frank’s birthday. Frank is one of the few people I know who loves custard/pastry cream as much as I do. Clearly we were meant to be friends. This was my first attempt at it, but all of the elements were familiar to me. It’s just sponge cake, pastry cream, and ganache. I used this recipe from Gale Gand. It tasted wonderful. I really liked the sponge cake, it had a great texture to it. I did have some issues though, the biggest being the cream oozing out of my cake. I could tell it was going to be a problem as soon as I poured the chocolate on. I snapped a picture as fast as I could, then watched in horror as I lost about half the cream. I’m not sure if there was anything I could do to prevent it, other than adding gelatin to the cream. The other issue I had with the recipe was the quantity of ganache it made. I had at least a cup left over, 8 ounces of chocolate is much too much to cover a 9 inch cake, so in the recipe below I cut the quantity down.

Boston Cream Pie

Recipe by Gail Gand

  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup cooking oil
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Pastry Cream

  • 2 cups whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat milk
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 ounces white chocolate, melted (optional)
  • 1 tbsp Grand Marnier  (optional)

Chocolate Ganache

  • 5 ounces semisweet chocolate
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream, boiling
  1. Make the pastry cream. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla to boil. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together, mix in the cornstarch making sure there are no lumps. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the warm milk to temper the eggs. Stir in the remaining milk. Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan. With heat on medium, whisk until the cream has thickened. Mix in the butter, white chocolate, and Grand Marnier. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cooled ( at least one hour)
  2. Make the cake. Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the milk, egg yolks, and vanilla in the well. Beat until well combined. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Fold the flour/egg yolk mixture into the egg whites. Pour into a 9 inch pie pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
  3. Make the ganache. Cut the chocolates into chunks. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is shinny and smooth.
  4. Assemble. Slice the cake in half. Spread the pastry cream on the bottom half of the cake. Put the top half of the cake on, then pour the ganache over the top. Cool in the refrigerator until the chocolate has set.

Enjoy!

Orange Tea Loaf

~ Lynn ~ 18 Comments

I switched departments in my company a little over a year ago. The work I do now is a lot more interesting, but the environment is … less fun. I used to work with a team the handled Canadian trades only, then switched to the International side. The work in both departments is very stressful. They are high risk jobs with tight deadlines. My old department dealt with the stress by joking around and helping each other out. Even though there was a lot of pressure coming to work was fun.

Now it’s every man for himself. In my new department I sit beside a man who swears all day long and likes to slam his phone. The other day he picked it up and slammed it down even though it wasn’t even ringing. I think he got an email that upset him; you can’t slam an email.

I’m thinking of starting a swear jar in the office. I’m pretty sure it will pay for my morning coffee. It might even cover lunch sometimes. And if it manages to curb the swearing, then it will make coming to work that much more pleasant.

Until the day my neighbour calms down, I have an afternoon ritual that gets me through the day. Just before 3PM (when the Fed closes and things get extra stressful), I make myself a tea, put on my noise reducing headphones, and I listen to music that makes me happy. This afternoon it was Graceland. Sometimes it’s the Dirty Dancing soundtrack.

If I’ve got my act together, I have a piece of cake with my tea.  This cake is one of my favourites. It’s a modification of one of my moms recipes. She uses raisins and walnuts, and puts an orange glaze on the cake. Today was particularly bad, and I could have used a little glaze on my cake, so I’ll post the recipe for even though I didn’t use it.

Orange Tea Loaf

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • zest of one orange, divided
  • juice of one orange
  • 1/4 cup yogurt
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup pistachios

For glaze

  • orange zest (leftover from cake)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 4-5 tsp milk
  1. Preheat the oven to 350, line a loaf pan with parchment paper (or grease it)
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and 1 tsp orange zest.
  4. Add 1/2 the flour mixture the butter, mix well. Stir in the orange juice and yogurt, followed by the remaining flour. Stir in the cranberries and pistachios.
  5. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Test the loaf after an hour with a toothpick to see if its done.
  6. Once done, let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then cool on a wire rack.
  7. For the glaze: Stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and remaining orange zest. Pour over cooled cake.

Enjoy!

Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies

~ Lynn ~ 20 Comments

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

This is the first challenge I actually made almost as soon as I read it. Right before putting my place up for sale some friends of mine came over to help me clean out the spare bedroom. They stayed for dinner and I decided to serve them the panna cotta and cookies for dessert. I chose to make Kahlua Panna Cotta with a coffee gelee layer, because I like coffee with my cookies. The panna cotta came together very well, but I had some difficulty with the cookies. With my first batch, I made each cookie too big so it turned into one giant cookie. With the second batch I put fewer cookies on the sheet, but they were still too big. The third batch was the charm. I put about a teaspoon of dough per cookie. I’m not really sure if the cookies were supposed to spread as much as they did, I may have put too much butter in the batter. They tasted really good, but I found them a little greasy.

On the other hand, the Kahlua panna cotta with coffee gelee was perfect. The panna cotta was rich and creamy and the coffee gelee was cool and refreshing. I will definitely make it again.

Kahlua Panna Cotta

  • 1 1/2 tsp gelatin
  • 1/4 cup Kahlua
  • 3 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  1. In a stainless steel bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the Kahlua. Place the bowl over simmering water and stir until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
  2. In a large sauce pan, combine the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla. Bring to a boil for one minute.
  3. Pour the hot cream mixture over the Kahlua and gelatin, stirring until completely combined.
  4. Pour the mixture into greased molds or cups. Chill for 3 hours. Once set, pour the coffee gelee mixture into the molds.

Coffee Gelee

  • 2 cups hot coffee
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (from one 1/4-oz envelope)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  1. In a sauce pan, bring 1/4 cup water to boil with the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved then remove from heat.
  2. Mix the gelatin with a tablespoon of cold water. Combine the gelatin, sugar syrup, coffee and vanilla together. Let cool completely
  3. Pour over the set panna cotta. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
  4. The panna cottas can be served in the mold, or turned out onto a plate.

Strawberries for Valentine’s Day

~ Lynn ~ 19 Comments

I’m generally not a big fan of Valentines Day. The hype that surrounds it makes it very difficult to live up to if you are in a relationship, and very depressing if you are not. Commanding people to feel lovey-dovey on a particular day is really kind of silly.

Instead of ignoring the day as I usually do, this year I’ve decided to treat like we did in elementary school. Everyone gets a Valentine! (Read that with an Oprah delivery, ie “You get a card, you get a card, EVERYONE GETS A CAAARD!!!!”) And you, my dear readers, are getting TWO strawberry recipes today.

You might notice that there is no refined sugar in these treats, that’s because I don’t think they need any. If you feel either of them needs a little more sweetness for your tastes feel free to add some.

The first strawberry treat I have for you is a smoothie. I love these for breakfast when I’m in a rush. Just pour them into a portable cup and drink on your way to work. If you want to up the healthiness factor, you can add flax or chia seeds, or even some protein powder. (Note, I’m not a huge powder fan but protein in the morning is great way to get energy for the day.) If you want to up the indulgent factor, add some cocoa powder and sugar or other sweetener.

The second is something I like to make myself when I’m craving a creamy dessert but feel like doing any work. It’s quick and easy to put together, and the drizzle of maple syrup is a perfect finishing touch.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

(serves 1)

  • 1 Banana
  • 5-6 strawberries, cleaned and hulled
  • 1/3 cup plain yogurt (or vanilla)
  • 1 cup milk (soy or almond also work)
  • mint leaves
  1. Put all ingredients in a blender and puree till smooth. Serve!

Strawberry and Ricotta Cup

  • Ricotta
  • Cinnamon
  • Maple Syrup
  • Strawberries, cleaned and sliced
  1. In a small bowl, mix ricotta, cinnamon, and a couple of tablespoons maple syrup.
  2. Put ricotta mixture in serving bowls, top with strawberries. Drizzle some maple syrup on top.

Enjoy!

Nutella Scones

~ Lynn ~ 25 Comments

February 5th is World Nutella Day. I may or may not have already mentioned this, but I looooove Nutella. I know it isn’t actually healthy, despite what the commercials say, but it is so delicious. Chocolate and hazelnut are just a match made in heaven.

I think my favourite way to eat Nutella is slathered in a thick layer on toasted white bread. I’ve only started baking with Nutella recently. My first attempt at it was my Chocolate Nutella Bites. That was followed quickly by Abby Dodge’s Nutella Fudge Brownies. To celebrate Nutella Day, I decided to try these Nutella Scones from Baked Explorations. I’ve been eying the book since it came out, and based on how well these guys came out I think I have no choice but to buy it. The scones are incredibly addictive, I love the layers of Nutella baked between chocolate scone. If you don’t have plans for Nutella Day, make these.

Or you could celebrate with a nice big spoonful.

Nutella Scones

  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup dark sweetened cocoa powder (like Valrhona)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts,coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup Nutella
  1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon mat.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa*, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter* to the flour. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the chunks of butter become pea sized and the flour holds together when squeezed.
  3. Whisk the cream and egg together. While mixing, slowly pour the cream mixture into the flour mixture until the dough just comes together. Stir in the hazelnuts*, then pour the dough onto a floured surface. Knead the dough into a 6 inch by 12 inch rectangle (doesn’t have to be exact).
  4. Spread 1/4 cup of the Nutella over the dough, then roll it into a cylinder. Flatten the cylinder into a disk, then slice it into wedges (6 or 8).
  5. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
  6. Once baked, place on a cooling rack. Warm the remaining 1/4 cup Nutella, then drizzle it over the cooling scones.

*Notes and tips

The recipe calls for sweetened cocoa, I used unsweetened and found them to be sweet enough.

For scones, cold butter is best. To get it into cubes, cut it while it’s slightly softened then put it in the freezer for a few minutes.

I omitted the hazelnuts because I didn’t have any on hand. They would probably add a really nice crunch, but I didn’t really miss them.

Enjoy!

Double Ginger Chocolate Cookies

~ Lynn ~ 29 Comments


Last week I went over to a friends house for coffee. As usually happens when two single women get together, the conversation eventually turned to men. You’d think at this point in our lives we could manage a conversation without talking about them, but no. Long story short, we don’t get them.

You go out on a date (well she does, I think 95% of the population is un-datable), things go really well, and then a week goes by and he hasn’t called for a second date. Why? What happened?

We pondered the possibilities while eating these Double Ginger and Chocolate Cookies. Serious injury was ruled out because she saw him at the gym. He smiled and waved, so it wasn’t amnesia. The men in Montreal tend to be short, and this guy is 6’2”. My theory is he knows all the women in the city are fighting over him and the other four tall guys, so he doesn’t want to commit.

After eating several cookies and drinking too much coffee, we came up with an action plan. Call him, ask how his weekend was, and see if he mentions date number two. She put the plan in place  Sunday night. They had a great conversation, but no second date

At least there were cookies.

I’ll be honest, these were a little too gingery for me. Next time I think I’ll just use the ground ginger. I also think they could use some chocolate chips. The recipe isn’t perfect, but I think with a few more tweaks it could be really good.

Double Ginger Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from the January 2011 issue of Bon Appetit

  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. In a bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking  soda, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon.
  3. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in the molasses, egg and fresh ginger until well combined.
  4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet.
  5. Using a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop, drop dough onto a cookie sheet about two inches apart.
  6. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Enjoy!